5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8 CSB)
If you want to understand the qualities of a good faith life here they are; goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, brotherly affection and love.
Read through those again. If even half of us practiced those qualities think what a difference we would see in this world.
Each of these qualities can create a personal, family and work life that endures. Each of them builds upon the other and provides us a bedrock in which we can live a fruitful life.
The scriptures provide us the knowledge we need to live a life of goodness.
Self-control helps us to build endurance.
Godliness helps us to extend a hand in brotherly affection.
And all of these must be possessed with both inner love for ourselves and outer love for others.
As we practice a faith live grounded upon these qualities, they increase in measure. They help us to be fruitful followers of Christ. They provide the substance to live a life that abounds with love and compassion for others.
But the greatest of these is love.
